Dawn of a New Evil
by Shannoni
Summary: Rei gets a premonition about her dead brother and does not understand it at first. Then everything gradually comes into view... Some language.
1. The Dead Speaker

"Heed my word, for if you do not, you shall be doomed to a fate far worse than death. When the moon rises high above the earth and is aligned with the sun, a new dawn of evil shall appear. I shall be here to watch over you…"

I tossed in my sleep as these words ran through my head over and over. What did theses words mean? I was about to find out. I awoke in a cold sweat to find Kenoshi staring up at me.

"What's wrong?" he asked me. "Did you have another nightmare?"

"Sort of," I replied. "I've had this dream for a week now."

"What's it about, and why do you seem so shaken up about it?" He put his hand on my back.

"Someone is speaking. I recognize the voice, but I can't quite place it. It's very strange, and the voice is saying: 'Heed my word, for you shall be doomed to a fate far worse than death. When the moon rises high above the earth and is aligned with the sun, a new dawn of evil shall appear. I shall be here to watch over you…'" I looked at him. "Do you have any idea what this means?"

He shook his head. "No," he replied. "I wish I did." He paused for a moment. "Maybe we should call John and ask him; he might know."

"John won't know what my dream means. Maybe Rayne will. After all, she knew my brother."

"Rei, how come you never talk about him?" Kenoshi sat up.

I thought for a moment, only to be disturbed by the thought that the voice from my dream could be Kojiro's. "It's too painful to talk about my brother. All I'll say is that he was killed in an explosion because of Oz's incompetence."

"And Rayne knew him?"

"Yes. She was in his group. After the explosion, she heard that I was in the war. My last name was familiar to her, so she came searching for me, and she succeeded in finding me."

"How come she never told me?" Kenoshi asked.

"I dunno," I said, shrugging. "I guess she just knew the last name, so she confides in me a little more because she knew Kojiro."

Just then, an alarm went off, and we both bolted out of our room and were met by Rayne.

"What is it?" I yelled over the alarm.

"I don't know!" she yelled back. "All I can sense is bad vibes!"

The alarm shut off, and Rayne and I stopped yelling over it. Suddenly, my communicator went off.

"Yes?" I said in reply to a picture of Commandant Williams appearing.

"Get the hell down here now! Something's gone wrong!" he said. 

"Yes, sir!" I turned it off and informed the others as they ran behind me down the hall. "What is it, Williams?" I questioned, out of breath and with my hands on my knees.

He looked to the main screen in the room.

"What is that?!" Kenoshi questioned.

"I was hoping you could tell me," Williams replied. "Any suggestions, Rei?"

I stared at the screen in disbelief. Had my premonition been right after all? "Can't talk now!" I ran out of the room, on my way to the hangar to grab a mobile suit. Thankfully, it was modeled after a gundam. As soon as I was out of the hangar, I was met by the new enemy.

"Rei," a voice said over the radio, "we've been waiting for you."

"What are you waiting for? Me to kill you?!" With that said, I lunged the suit at the enemy.

"REI! Wait for us!" Kenoshi yelled over the radio.

I was hit from behind. "Kenoshi, just stay back! I'll be fine!" I turned and was met by another blow. This time it hit my arm, disabling all hope of defending myself. "Damn!" I screamed. I closed my eyes as Kojiro's voice spoke to me.

_"Rei, I believe in you; I know you can defeat this new evil one way or another,"_ he said.

_'I don't know how,'_ my mind replied. _'I'm sorry I don't understand my dream and your warning.'_

_"You will understand very soon. Remember, I am watching over you."_

_'Kojiro, keep talking! Don't go!'_

"I must, dear sister. I love you."

"Kojiro!" I screamed, getting hit from behind again. This time, my engines were blown off.

"Rei, we're coming to help you!" Rayne yelled as she hurled her mobile suit toward my attacker. She was only blown out of the sky.

"RAYNE! NO!" Now I had lost another person that was close to me because of my incompetence.

"Rei, get back to base!" Kenoshi yelled.

"No! I'll be okay!" I replied through my tears. I then turned and fired the machine guns and missiles continually at my attacker.

However, the opposing mobile suit blocked and delivered the finishing blow to send me spinning into oblivion.

"Kenoshi, always remember that I love you no matter what!" I screamed.

"Heh, my work here is done," the voice of my enemy said over the radio.

"REI!" I heard Kenoshi scream before my mobile suit exploded. 

That was the last thing I could remember after I had awoken in a strange room made of mirrors.

"Who are you," I began to question angrily, "and what do you want with me?" I stood from where I was laying while I was unconscious and approached a peculiarly large mirror.

"We just wanted to see what you were capable of, Captain Thompson," a voice said.

I haven't been called Captain Thompson in years. "How do you know that I was in the military?"

"We've been watching you throughout your war with Oz, and we've decided to make you a part of our elite tactics group."

Just then, I could swear that I heard my brother begin to speak, saying, "Rei, you needed to be taken away from those people; you have powers far greater than you can imagine."

I began to cry. "I don't need powers; I just need to be with my friends! What have you done to Rayne?! Where is she?!"

"You tell us what we want to know, and we'll tell you what you want to know," one of the fighters said. He had on a black leather shirt and black jeans.

"I won't tell you shit," I replied angrily. Fortunately, I matched those so called "elite fighters" since I was wearing black leather pants and a black shirt. The shirt had a silver dragon on the front with Japanese characters on both sleeves.

Another guy wearing black jeans and a black shirt came up to me and took a fighting stance, so I did the same.

"Oh, you wanna fight instead of talk?" I said with a nasty sarcastic tone. "All right, let's dance, asshole."

He charged me at full speed, and I disappeared when he was about an inch away from slamming his fist in my stomach. He stood, looking around as I floated behind him and reappeared.

"Looking for me?!" I said. I kicked him in his back and hooked my foot around to grab his neck and break it. Fortunately, I succeeded in bringing my foot around and grabbing his neck, and as I pulled him closer so I could get my hands on his neck to break it, one of his buddies charged at me. I went into the guys mind and made him go insane in two seconds flat. "Looks like I'll see you in hell," I said to the one guy whose neck was about to break. I snapped his neck and moved on to killing the other guy. It was simple since I had driven him insane, and all I needed to do was kick him in the chest and send him through a wall, literally.

"Impressive," the guy who had captured me said. For some reason, his voice sounded a lot like Kojiro's.

"You and me. Now," I said in reply.

"Very well then." He unsheathed a sword.

"No, no, no," I said, moving my hand to my back to unsheathe my own sword, "that's not a sword." I pulled out my sword, which was three times as thick and wide as his. "This is a sword." I saw him wince slightly. "So you're scared of me now, huh? Well, that makes it all the more easier for me to kill you."

"Me? Scared? Oh, you're full of it." He raised his sword and pointed at me. "Today," he said, "you will die, Rei Thompson!"

"I'll pass, thanks!" I charged at him and put my sword right through him. It was obvious to me that he couldn't trace my movement since I went as fast as I possibly could. However, after I had come up right in front of him, he sliced my left arm from the elbow down to the wrist. "Bastard," I said as I shoved my sword right through him. "Die!"

Naturally, he died a few seconds after my sword had been shoved right through him, and as I pulled out my sword, I used my telepathic ability to try and contact Rayne, but I didn't get a response whatsoever. I tried contacting Kenoshi. 'Kenoshi? Can you hear me?' I asked with my mind.

Thankfully, I got a response. "Rei! Where are you?! Are you hurt?! What happened?!" he questioned, pounding my mind.

"Slow down! I've got a big enough headache as it is," I replied.

"Sorry." He paused for a minute to think. "Where are you? Are you hurt?" he asked calmly.

"I don't know where I am; all I know is that I'm okay, except for the huge slice from my elbow to my wrist," I replied.

"That should leave a nasty scar. Is it deep?"

"Yeah, it almost went down to the bone, but I'm okay." At this point I could tell that he was starting to worry. "I'm all right; there's no need to worry about me."

"There is a reason; you're hurt, and there's nothing I can do."

"I'll be fine. I'll get back to the base as soon as I find Rayne, okay?"

I heard him sigh. "All right, but hurry back."

"I will." I broke the communication off and headed off to find the exit. Sure enough, I found it in a few minutes and went off to find Rayne. After an hour of searching and not finding her, I gave up hope, thinking that she had gone back to the base, so I left. I looked around and found a mobile suit, got into it, and left to get back to the base. When I had arrived, Kenoshi rushed out to meet me.

He took me into his arms and held me tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay," he said.

I looked down at my arm and noticed that it had started to bleed again. "Uh, Kenoshi, my arm is bleeding. I think we should go down to sick bay and check it out," I said.

He let me go and took my arm to see it. "Damn! That's gonna leave one hell of a scar!" He looked up at me. "Who did this to you?! I'll kill him!"

"That's already been taken care of. I took revenge on the guy that did this to me." I staggered, almost falling over. Luckily, Kenoshi caught me before I had a chance to fall to my knees. I put my arm around his shoulder and looked down at me knee. I saw blood seeping through my jeans. "Someone must've gotten to my knee, too. I hate it when I'm like this."

"I'm happy when you're alive and okay. However, I do seem to worry about you when you're like this." He started to carry me down to sick bay.

"You shouldn't worry. I'm all right." I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He got a doctor to come over and examine my arm after he put me down onto a hospital bed.

The doctor looked at my injuries and said, "Jesus, What the heck happened to you?"

"I got caught up in a small fight. Just another day's work," I replied as he bandaged my wounds and gave me crutches.

After that, Kenoshi and I walked out and went down to the cafeteria. There we found Rayne.

"Rayne! How did you…Where were you?" I asked, concerned.

"I can't really explain it; I think I was unconscious at the time," she replied. "However, when I woke up, I saw this guy standing in front of me that looked sort of like…Kojiro." She almost choked when she said his name. Obviously, she still wasn't over him yet. "He said that he wanted to meet you at a café. Here, he wanted me to give you this." She then handed me a small note with directions and the time to meet this guy.

I looked at the paper and my eyes widened. "I have to go. I'll see you guys soon," I said.

"Let me drive you there," Kenoshi said. He walked over to me and put his arms around my waist.

"I can walk. It's good exercise. Besides, this guy wants me to come alone. He sees me with either of you, he'll bolt." I kissed Kenoshi on the cheek and left. I used my previous experience with crutches and walked as fast as I could with them. I walked to the café within twenty minutes, obviously making good time. I was met with a surprise. Rayne was right, I thought. This guys looks exactly like Kojiro.

"Rei Thompson?" he questioned.

I nodded. "In the flesh," I said. "And you are…"

"I'm Taro Yusaki. I knew your brother, and I heard that you were in a pretty bad fight."

I smirked. "News travels pretty fast." I paused, pointing to my injuries. "Yeah, I got into a fight, and I have the wounds to prove it. I did, however, kill the guys that did this to me."

Yusaki looked at my injuries and shook his head. "Those guys weren't the real deal. They were just recruits. Unfortunately, there are more of these guys. They're stronger and faster."

"I betcha they can't do this," I said. I then went out the door and came back with a newspaper in seconds since I was going at top speed. "See?" I handed him the newspaper.

He chuckled and smiled at me. "Your brother was right all those years ago," he said.

"What was he right about?" I asked. I was suddenly eager to hear what this guy had to say.

"He said that you have this inner beauty to you, that you act like you were never caught up in anything. He said that you like to joke around a lot."

I frowned. "That all changed after he died. I joined the Alliance to get back at Oz for what they did. After the Alliance's major leaders were destroyed, I was met by a scientist who had asked me to pilot a gundam." As I told Yusaki the rest of the story, I saw his eyes widen.

"You've been trained well," he said, "but, unfortunately, you haven't been trained enough."

I was both surprised and angered by what he had just told me. Wait till Rayne and Kenoshi hear about this, I though. "I was trained by the top trainers on the Earth."

"The trainers on Earth were skilled, but you weren't taught well enough. I can help you and your friends train. I'll be sure to make you all into the top elite fighters of Earth and the colonies."

"But-" I started.

"I must; it was my promise to your brother."

I looked away. "Follow me if you'd like to get started on that training. Unfortunately, we don't have any room at the base for you, but there's a hotel nearby."

He nodded. "Let's go," he said.

I led him back to the base as fast as I could, and he had to jog to keep up with me.

"You're good with crutches."

"Thanks, I kinda wrecked a mobile suit while I was in the military and I had crutches for a month and a half," I replied. We then arrived at the base where I was greeted by Rayne and Kenoshi. "Apparently, this guy was a friend of Kojiro's, and he promised him to train us before Kojiro's death. Unbelievable, huh?"

Kenoshi looked at me. "What will this do?" he asked.

"You'll be among the top fighters on both Earth and the colonies," Yusaki replied. "Allow me to introduce myself; I'm Taro Yusaki." He bowed politely.

"I'm Rayne," she said, also bowing.

"This is Kenoshi Ryan," I said, putting my arm around him after he had bowed.

"Well, Rei, are you hungry?" Kenoshi asked.

I looked at him and smiled warmly. "I just worked off my breakfast, and I'm starved!"

Everyone laughed as soon as I had finished my sentence. Then we all headed down to the cafeteria to grab some lunch.

Afterwards, we went to the training area and popped in a program. It was for me, and he asked me to get into the simulator. He didn't tell me what program it was.

I nodded slightly and got into the simulator as the program started. As soon as I saw the controls in front of me, I knew this had to be a mistake. Wing Zero! I thought. This can't be happening to me! I'm supposed to pilot the modified version of Wing Zero! I started to pilot the "suit" while simulated enemies flew around me. They were mobile dolls. I hope that I'll do okay with this… I fired at the suits at an alarming rate. I then felt the system start messing with my head. I screamed as I saw my worst fear flash before my eyes. No! Kenoshi! Rayne! NO! my mind screamed as the vision wouldn't stop until I had finished screaming. As soon as my screaming and vision was over, the program ended, and I opened my eyes to see Kenoshi standing in front of me. I was breathing heavily.

"Rei? Are you alright?" ha asked, embracing me tightly.

I swallowed hard. "Yeah," I said, out of breath. "Yeah, I'm okay."

He then turned to Yusaki. "What the heck are you trying to do to her, kill her?!" he questioned harshly, outraged.

"I'm trying to prepare her for the Zero system being installed into her gundam's computer," Yusaki replied.

"My gundam?! What do you mean?! You're gonna bring back the gundams?!" I questioned, still out of breath.

Rayne looked to Yusaki.

"Well?!" I questioned.

"Yes." Yusaki nodded. "I have them at a base not far from this colony. I recovered them and had the original designers rebuild them."

Kenoshi held me tighter. "We don't want to fight any more. Never again."

"Kenoshi," I said quietly, "it's for the best. It's probably our only way of defeating these elite fighters."

He met my gaze and I lowered my eyes to the floor. He lifted my chin and kissed me, smiling at me afterwards. "I understand now." He stared into my eyes. "I won't let them hurt you."

"I can hold my own," I replied. "It looks like I'm going to be leading the missions, huh?" I asked Yusaki.

He nodded. "That is the reason for the Zero system.

This idea of his shocked me. "I think I need some sleep," I said, looking at my watch. It was only four in the afternoon, but I didn't care. I was tired and needed some rest.

Kenoshi let go and followed me into our quarters. "You okay?" he asked me. He had a concerned look on his face.

I looked at him. I fell backwards onto the bed. "I don't know any more," I replied. "After all that…I just need some sleep, that's all."

He laid down next to me and put his arm around my waist. "Are you sure? What happened back there?"

I sighed heavily. "I saw my worst fear in front of me. It seemed so real…" I paused, hoping that I wouldn't have to continue, but when I saw Kenoshi give me a questioning look, I sighed again. "I saw you and Rayne dying before my eyes. It was so real. That's why I screamed."

"I don't want that Zero system installed into your gundam. It seems to screw around with your mind."

"It does, but I'll be okay, don't worry."

"Are you sure? I could have it installed on my gundam instead," he said.

"I'm sure. I can handle it, don't worry. It'll just take some getting used to," I said, reassuring him. I put my arms around him and immediately fell asleep. When I woke up, I saw that it was early morning and that Kenoshi was still where he had been the afternoon before. I got up quietly, being careful not to wake him up and went off to try and find Yusaki. I succeeded, and I asked him to pop that program in again so that I could get used to the Zero system before I got Death back into my possession.

"So, you want to try again?" ha said. "Well, your brother was right about another thing: you definitely don't give up.'"

"Why do you keep talking about my brother?" I questioned, curious.

"Rei, listen to me," he replied.

Oh, God, here we go; this can't be good, I thought. I nodded.

"You may not believe this at first, but the reason I keep referring to your brother is because I am your brother."

"No, Kojiro's dead. He died a long time ago…" I started to back away cautiously. I was afraid of the truth. I knew Kojiro was dead. The explosion had killed him. "Oz killed him. The explosion…"

"I'm not dead. Taro Yusaki was just a code name I use for myself sometimes. I just wanted to see if it was really you or not. I wasn't sure if you had died in the war or not."

"Well, I didn't," I said. My voice was a little shaky. "If you're really Kojiro, then you'll prove it." I was seriously beginning to get scared.

He nodded slowly. "I can't remember the last time I saw you. I know it was before the war. I had amnesia after the explosion, and I was taken for dead. After I had recovered, I found out that you were fighting in the war and that the Alliance's major leaders had been assassinated. I knew that Oz was behind that, and I decided to see if you were here. I had to warn you about the new war that will be starting soon. It will not be official, but even though it's not, you must still prepare for it."

"No, no, no. I said prove it, not tell me what happened to you." I was about ready to explode with suspense. I suddenly remembered that Kojiro had a long scar, like the cut that was down my arm. "Show me your right arm," I said.

He gave me his right arm, and I turned it over. I saw a long, reddish cut similar to mine. I was the one that gave him that cut when we were little and our parents were still alive. "How did you get this?" I questioned, afraid of what he would say.

"We were playing with dad's swords, and you accidentally sliced my arm. That was about nine or ten years ago since you're about sixteen now."

My eyes widened. That's what I was afraid of, I thought. I then nodded as my eyes started to tear up. "I thought you were dead. I thought…I thought that I had lost you. I'm sorry." I looked away, only to be met by him crouching down to look me in the eye.

"Hey," he said, "you shouldn't be apologizing. You didn't know." He smiled at me and grew serious a few seconds later. "There was a voice of someone that spoke to you during your battle with those men. It wasn't when you were in the mobile suit, it was before you had started to fight with the others after they had captured you."

"That was you…?" I turned away from him. "That's what I thought. So you were the one that was trying to take me away from my friends!" I started to walk away, and as I did, I looked back at him over my shoulder and said coldly "You're not my brother; you're not Kojiro!" I ran back to the room that Kenoshi and I shared and jumped onto the bed, crying.

Kenoshi woke up when he heard my sobbing. He put a hand on my back. "Are you alright?" he asked. He gave me a loving look, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder.

"Yusaki claims that he's Kojiro," I replied through my sobs. "He's not. He tried to take me away from you and Rayne."

He pulled me closer. "I only wish that I could do something."

"Maybe there is something. Maybe you could challenge him, or better yet, let me do it. That guy could be an imposter, after all."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

I looked up into his eyes. "It's the only way," I said gently.

"Maybe you should challenge him in the morning. We both need some sleep now," Kenoshi said, trying to get my mind off of the subject.

I nodded and yawned. "Yeah." I then walked into the bathroom and changed quickly. I came out a couple minutes later and put my normal clothes away. Then I got into bed, kissed Kenoshi good night, and fell asleep almost the same instant my head hit the pillow.

I felt a soft tap on my shoulder and Kenoshi say, "Rei, you awake?" in the distance. I couldn't come out of the dream I was having; it was too good to wake up from.

The next morning, I awoke and rolled over to see that Kenoshi wasn't there.

Oh, no, I thought, he's probably gone to challenge Kojiro. I'd better get up! I got up and put on a pair of leather pants, a white t-shirt, and a leather vest, and I walked down to the hangar to find Kenoshi's gundam gone. "Oh, man!" I murmured to myself under my breath. I knew that he had, in fact, challenged my "brother" to a battle. How…Why did he take off like that without telling me? Oh, if he loses, he's gonna get it! Then, I had just remembered. Wait a second, he never really loses! I used my mind to find him, just like I had done the previous day. Once I had found him, I hopped into Death and typed in the coordinates quickly, and then I was off. "I'm coming, Kenoshi!" I said to no one in peticular.

Death was being showered with sparks.

"What the…?!" I questioned, happy that I knew where the sparks had come from. I looked up to see Kenoshi and Kojiro fighting. Once I saw that Asteroth was the one sparking, I opened up a com-link with Kojiro and started to yell at him. "How could you do this?! What's wrong with you?! You little son of a bitch! Let's go! You and me…NOW! Get out of your mobile suit and grab a sword! I'll give you five minutes to get a sword and get you're your ass back here! Starting…" I looked down at my watch. "…NOW! Go!"

Kojiro flew off, obviously in a hurry to get back here and fight sister if I even was his sister.

"Kenoshi, can you here me?" I asked quietly.

"Just barely," he said almost inaudibly. "He's …too…fast…" I heard him breathing heavily. "He hit me from…behind, and then he started…blasting me continually…with his gun…" He faded out.

"Kenoshi?!" I opened a com-link with him to see that he was unconscious. I linked to Asteroth and punched in the coordinates for the base. After he was on his way, I called Williams to inform him of the situation.

"I'll send Rayne just in case you might need reinforcements," Williams said.

"I won't need reinforcements," I said harshly. "If you send reinforcements, then I'll have to turn on you. I know that sounds bad, but when I saw that he hurt Kenoshi, I couldn't stand it any more. So, if you'll excuse me, I have someone to kill." I closed the com-link and turned to Kojiro. "You," I began, "you hurt the closest person that I know…"

"I thought that I was that person," he replied.

"Think again, asshole. I wouldn't trust you worth anything, especially since you're supposed to be dead!" I then lunged at his mobile suit, striking it with my beam sword. 

He tried to do an uppercut, but it didn't work. Then, seeing that his move didn't work, he, too, pulled out his beam sword. He tried to slice off Death's hand.

"That's not gonna work very well," I said. I looked to find Earth right below us. 'That's it!' I thought triumphantly. 'I'll just challenge him on Earth! I'm used to the gravity there, he isn't! Then I'll get revenge for what he did to Kenoshi…' I stopped fighting with Kojiro for just a second. "Let's go fight down there, on Earth," I said, hiding the excitement of being used to the gravity. "I know a good spot for a duel…"

****

What awaits Rei as she duels with her so-called brother Kojiro? You'll just have to hang from the ceiling in suspense until I write the next part to this!


	2. Dueling With a Ghost

__

'I have to beat him…If I don't…then the colonies and Earth are doomed forever. I don't even know what he's capable of,' I thought as Death and the mobile suit that Kojiro was in descended to Earth slowly. I hoped that I could beat him, and, for once in a long time, I prayed.

"Why the silence, sister?" Kojiro asked. "Praying that you'll go to heaven after I kill you?"

"Why should I go to heaven? I destroyed so many people. I ought to be begging for forgiveness." I thought over what I had just said. "Then again, you should be praying because as far as I'm concerned, you can burn in hell," I said harshly.

Finally, we descended onto Earth, landed, and pulled out our swords; mine, of course, was almost like Cloud Strife's but had spikes on the handle above and below my hands.

__

'I shall kill him with this sword. He is the darkness; I am the light… Well, okay, okay, so I admit it, I'm the darkness, too, in a way. I can't believe he has the guts to challenge me,' I thought as I readied myself for his first attempt to slice my head off.

Fortunately, however, he let me have the first move.

"Weaker sex first," he said, grinning.

I always have a comeback ready in case someon says that to me. "Never send a man to do a woman's job," I replied, smirking as I saw the grin wiped off of his face.

"You're full of shit, you know. That's why you have that cut on your arm. That will provide a weekness for you and a victory for me."

"Bullshit. Are you just gonna chit-chat or fight?" I asked, raising my sword. "Oh, and you can go first; I'm patient."

"Fine," Kojiro grumbled. He raised his sword into the air as clouds covered the sky quickly.

'What is this?' I thought, confused. _'Is he going to try and hit me with a bolt of lightning?' _ Finally, realizing what he ws going to do, I contacted Rayne. _'Rayne?'_ I asked with my mind. _'Rayne, are you there?'_

'I'm here,' she responded. 'Do you need me?'

'Yes. Kojiro is using his sword to conduct lightning and throw the bolt at me. I need you to try and talk some sense into him. Can you pinpoint my location?'

'I'm on my way,' she said. 'I'll be there soon. Out.'

I was relieved, and right as Kojiro was calling upon his powers, Rayne arrived.

Kojiro stopped in mid-sentence and looked at her. "Katrina…" he said, trailing off. His voice was nothing but a gentle whisper. He walked over to her and gently stroked her face.

Rayne pulled away. "Kojiro," she said, "stop this pointless fighting. Fighting like this is nothing but a battle to see who is the more skilled and advanced of the two of you. Leave Rei be. Please, Kojiro."

I was surprised at the way they talked to each other; their expressions were so gentle, and they reminded me of whenever I was with Kenoshi. _'Kenoshi,' I began with my mind, 'if you can hear me, I love you. I hope you're okay…'_

'Rei,' I heard him respond. He sounded weak. _'I love you, too. I'm fine; it's just…'_

'Just what? You sound like the pain you're going through is draining you of your life.'

There was no response from Kenoshi, and I thought that he had gone out cold, or worse…

"KENOSHI!" I screamed. All of a sudden, a ring of light appeared around me, and I transformed into someone else. I had purple hair, deep violet eyes, I was taller, my nails were slightly longer and had purple nail polish on them, and my voice had changed.

Kojiro stood there, staring at me in awe. "You're…"

"So the legend is true," Rayne said. "You're …"

"Kojiro," I heard my mouth say, but it wasn't my voice, "your soul has tormented this universe long enough. Be gone!" I started chanting something in a different language. I didn't know what language it was, but as soon as the chanting was over and Kojiro was gone, I returned to my normal self and collapsed. 

When I awoke, I saw Kenoshi smiling gently at me. "Hey," he said. "Rayne tells me that the legend is true."

"What legend?" I asked weakly.

"You're the Goddess of Souls. Rayne described the sight to me. I only wish I could have seen you like that."

"I don't get it," I replied.

He gently stroked my face. "You need your rest. That transformation left you weak. Here, I'll carry you to our quarters so you can sleep there." He picked me up, and as soon as he did, I fell asleep in his arms.

__

'Some Goddess of Souls,' I drempt._ 'I can't even look at my reflection in the mirror when that happens.'_ I felt like I had known about my true identity all along.

I woke up the next morning, ready for anything that came my way. "Morning," I said cheerfully to Kenoshi.

He smiled at me. "Did you get enough rest?" he asked in the same tone that I had used to speak to him.

I nodded. "Yeah. Tell me something…"

He looked deep into my eyes.

"…what happened after I sent you back to the base?"

He stared at me like I had stabbed him.

"Kenoshi?" I looked at him sadly. "What's wrong?"

"I…I…" Tears started to form. "I…"

I took him into my arms. "It's okay," I said. "You don't have to tell me now."

"Yes, I do," he replied. He buried his head in my shoulder. "I almost died. Thanks to you for getting revenge for me, I'm alive now. If you hadn't…I wouldn't be here."

I couldn't even think about life without him. I started to cry silently, but Kenoshi could feel my body shake when I sobbed.

He put his hand under my chin and lifted my head up, and I saw that he had stopped crying. "Hey," he said gently, "don't worry; I'm still here. I'll never leave you."

"I know," I replied, sobbing less and less harshly, "but I could never imagine my life without you. I'll never leave you, either…"

And so, my brother's soul had been sent back to the Underworld, never to return again. I just hope that he didn't train any others…

__

What will happen now that Rei has confirmed her true identity in her transformation? If Kojiro'' soul really gone for good? Stay tuned...


End file.
